After The Wedding
by WrenWinterSong
Summary: A short drabble about one infamous hand-holding.


Hermione stood in front of the mirror and really took herself in for the second time that day. She didn't often make a note of the number of times she'd seen her reflection in a day, but the last time had felt special. She'd felt beautiful, even more so than at the Yule Ball. The dress and the make-up and the hair potions all felt like a well-constructed mirage when she'd been fourteen. Now, she no longer felt like she'd put on someone else's skin; she recognized herself in the mirror and still enjoyed the reflection. The war felt far, far away.

Then the war had smashed through the front door and thrown everyone to the ground. No one had counted on Bill and Fleur's wedding to be the day they'd all be thrown into the battlefield but, she supposed, that was often the way of war. It came unexpectedly. It planned to catch you off-guard. It waited until you weren't looking to strike.

She splashed water on her face, trying to keep her mind on the task at hand. It hadn't worked again, though. When she lifted her face to the mirror again, every bit of make-up still stained her face perfectly: her eyelashes black, lips and cheeks pink, eyelids even still simmering gold. What once looked elegant and beautiful just looked ridiculous next to her disheveled hair and worn pyjamas. She sincerely hoped there was a book somewhere in Grimmauld Place that contained a spell that would remove all these magicked beauty products.

Well, nothing more could be done about it at the moment. Hermione let out an annoyed sigh as she grabbed her dress from the floor and marched out of the bathroom. "Alright ?" Ron asked as she stormed past him to shove the lavender heap into her beaded bag.

"I don't know how to get all this stupid makeup off my face," she grumbled, her exhaustion making her react more intensely than called for. She had been so prepared for this day, packed everything into that bag, but she'd missed this one tiny thing she never would have thought of. It was infuriating.

"It'll wear off in a few days," Ron said so nonchalantly that it pricked at her frayed nerves. She stood up straight, a biting comment on the tip of her tongue, but then she saw him lining up the cushions from the sofa on the floor.

"What are you…?" she started to ask. The question faded as it was answered by Ron laying her sleeping bag down on top of the line of cushions.

He glanced over at her with a brief sheepish smile. "I just thought… y'know it'd be more comfortable… and, uh, out of all of us, you deserve it for, well, saving our arses today, and being prepared and all."

"I don't…" Hermione started to protest, but the rejection that clouded over Ron's smile at her single word stopped her. There was something there, something she had been trying hard not to read into the entire summer until she gave into it completely during the wedding reception. As soon as Ron had grabbed her hand and dragged her away from Viktor to the dance floor, she let herself be consumed by the hope. Maybe whatever this tenderness in her heart she'd had for him since he'd defended her against Draco Malfoy and a word she hadn't even known their second year wasn't completely unrequited.

"Thank you," she said with a smile, his returning one warming that tender spot in her heart.

Harry loudly shook out his own sleeping bag, pointedly not looking at the pair of them. "Should probably get to sleep," he muttered as he pulled open the zipper. "Who knows what might happen tomorrow."

Hermione and Ron both nodded in solemn agreement. That was their reality now. Tomorrow was uncertain, so better rest while you can. All three of them settled into their sleeping bags, and with a wave of Hermione's wand, they were immersed in the darkness of the night.

It didn't take very long for Hermione to realize she would not be getting a good night's sleep. The boys' breathes were unfamiliar and distracting to her already scattered mind. Harry's breathing quickly shifted from unnoticeable to heavy and nearly heaving, like his sleeping body couldn't catch its breath. Then there was Ron, who started tossing and turning as soon as the lights had extinguished. Their stressful evening obviously had affected them all, but unfortunately for Hermione, her mind sharpened under stress. Every heavy breath from Harry and every rustle from Ron poked her brain back into wakefulness. Even with the cushions, it was going to be a long night.

Hermione was debating going for a walk, maybe finding a book to quiet her mind for a bit before trying to sleep again, when Ron flopped over onto his back and sighed loudly. The small glint of the moon reflected on his open eyes. Apparently, she wasn't the only one finding sleep an impossible task.

He was still for a moment, finally, and she thought about saying something. Another ragged breath from Harry stopped her, though. He needed the sleep, and she would not risk waking him.

Ron stretched his arms out with another sigh, his hand less than a foot away from Hermione's head. On another day, she would have let the moment pass. She would have imagined reaching out to take it then told herself it was too much, too intimate, too far past that line of friendship that they'd been drawing for years. But he had held her hand today. He had held her hand and then her waist today. And he'd danced with her, their hands still grasped together. He had held her close, close enough for her to lean her head again his shoulder, and when she did, he had pulled her tighter.

On this day, she didn't imagine what would happen if she gave her courage to her heart and took his hand. Tonight, she simply did it.

* * *

**Author's Note: **For anyone curious, this little drabble was originally going to be the prologue for a chaptered Romione fic I'm currently working on, but a different missing moment prefaced the story a little better so this bit was cut. I liked it enough to not want it to go to waste, so think of this as a sneak peak of the larger story that I'll probably start posting in a month or two. It has not been beta read, so if you notice any typos, please let me know! Hope you enjoy it!


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